Rotary-engine.



PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908.

Y zsHBIITs-SHBBT-I.

' W. S. FERGUSON. ROTARY ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED P31349, 1908.

. N kw No. 896,368. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908.

W. S. FERGUSON. ROTARY ENGINE. APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 19, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM S. FERGUSON, OF LEESVILLE, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES BEDFORD STERNS, OF LEESVILLE, LOUISIANA.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

Application filed February 19, 1908. Serial No. 416,715.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. FERGU- soN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Leesville, in the parish of Vernon and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and useful Rotary Engine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in rotary engines, and one object is to provide a means whereby the movable abutment may always have the'same extent of travel irrespective of the size of the engine. For this purpose the abutment is made to traverse the steam course radially and midway between the inlet and exhaust ports, while in order to increase the power of the engine it is then only necessary to provide a steam course wider in a direction at right angles to a radius of the steam course and to provide a movable abutment of commensurate width, while the length of the abutment is the same for all engines so that its extent of travel remains constant.

The invention also contemplates the employment of a cut-off in connection with the steam inlet, which cut-off is duplicated at the outlet so that when steam is admitted at the first exhaust end and allowed to exhaust at the first inlet end, then the direction of rotation of the engine may be reversed. In this connection provision is made for inlet and outlet passages to each ort entering the steam course, and a suitablle slide valve is providedso that either port may be made the inlet or exhaust port to the steam course.

Furthermore, the invention contemplates in connection with the cut-off mechanism provision whereby the cut-off may be adjusted to operate in the prop er time sequence with either port to the steam course serving as the inlet port, the respective other port in such case, though controlled by the cutoff mechanism, remaining inactive.

The invention will be best understood by a consideration of the following detail description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification', in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section with parts shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the engine with parts in section. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the steam chest and adjacent parts at right angles to the section offFig. l. Fig. 4 is a view illustrating a modified form of the engine.

the center of the steam chest.

Referring to the drawings, the engine is shown as composed of a stationary member 1 of cylindrical shape in which is formed a circumferential steam'course 2 of rectangular cross section,l One side 3 of the stationary member 1 is removable for access to the interior of the steam course and the inner wall of the steam course is formed of two inwardlydirected opposed annular fianges 5, each of which has at its free end a groove 5 for the reception of suitable packing 6.

On each side of the stationary member of the engine are pedestals 7, 8, carrying at the upper end suitable bearings 9 for a shaft 10, which is supported in the axis of the steam course. Fast on the shaft is a disk 11 having its peripheral portion extending between the opposed faces of the flanges 4 and engaged by the packing 6. The periphery of the disk 11 is coincident with the inner walls of the flanges 4. The disk 1lcarries within the steam course a piston 12 preferably of segmental shape in longitudinal section and rectangular in cross section conforming in shape to the cross sectional shape of the steam course and provided with a groove in which is located packing 13 engaging the sides and outer face of the steam course. The inner edge of the piston may fit the steam course sufficiently tight to prevent any material leakages at this point.

Formed on top of the member 1 is a steam chest 14 provided with a cover 15 and at a distance below the cover with a diapragm 16. Between the cover and diaphragm are webs 17 spaced a short distance from the end walls 18 of the steam chest and dividing theinterior of the steam chest into end chambers 19 and a4 central chamber 20. The diaphragm 16 is spaced a short distance above the bottom of the steam chest and within the space thus formed there is housed a slide valve formed of two plates 21, 22 each having laterally-extending studs 23 entering side extensions 24 of the steam chest, and the corresponding studs on the two plates are joined by connecting rods 25 capable of moving longitudinally in the side extensions 24. Extending through the diaphragml 16 on each side of the center thereof and through the body of the steam chest 14 toward the steam course are passageways 26, 27 finally merging into ports 28, 29, respectively, which latter open into the steam course on each side of The passagetion is such and the Ways 26 and 27 may be square or otherwise shaped, whileV the ports 28 and 29 may be elongated in a direction lateral to the length of the steam course. Diverging from the ports 28 and 29 are respective passages 30, 31, extending to and through the ends of the plates 16 and 17 and opening into the chambers 19. The plates 21 and 22 have through ports 32 corresponding to the several openings 26, 27, 30 and 31, but these openingsare so located that when the hplates are moved in one direction the openings 27 and 3() are uncovered while the openings 26 and 31 are closed, and when the plates are moved in the othery direction the reverse is true. Within the chamber 20 are slide valves 33 and 34, respectively, guided on one side by Ythe Webs 17 and on the other side by lugs or flanges 35 so that these slide valves may move laterally across 'the steam chest into and out of coincidence with the passages 26 and 27. Steam enters the chamber 27 by a steam pipe 36 which may be provided With a suitable valve 37 and branched to enter the chamber 20 at two points about coincident with the passages 26 and 27 Leading from each chamber 19 is an exhaust pipe 38.

There are suitable ways 39 on each side of the steam chest and continued into the steam course in a radial direction. These ways receive the ends of a sliding abutment 4() guided by said ways and provided with a stem-41 extending up through the cover 15 of the steam chest through a suitable packing gland 42. The ways 39 may also be provided with longitudinal grooves for the reception of packing 43 so that the movable abutment has practically steam tight connection at its ends. This abutment has a range of travel sufficient to traverse the steam course until its inner edgeis in engagement with the inner wall of the steam course, and when withdrawn therefrom the inner edge of the abutment is about coinci dentWith the outer wall of the steam course.

As will hereinafter appear, the construcparts are so timed in movement that the movable abutment is withdrawn from the steam course `on the approach of the piston 12 and as soon as the piston has passed the position of the abutment then the latter is again projected into and across` the steam course.

l Let it be supposed that the sliding memcounter clockwise. It passes the port 29,

but this port being connected with the exhaust nothing happens. The -lpistonthen moves by the path of the abutment 40 and the latter is then, by mechanism to be described, moved into and across the steam course. By the time this occurs the piston has finally unclosed the port 28. Now, the live steam enters by the port 28 into the steam course and reacting on the abutment 40 and piston 12 causes the disk 11 to rotate under the impulse of the steam. Assuming there is steam in front of the piston 12, it now exhausts through the port 29. When the piston a ain approaches the sliding abutment 40 theatter is withdrawn at the pro er time to permit the piston to pass it an is again moved across the steam course. the engine continues to run. 1f the slide valve be moved in the other direction by means of a lever 43 carried by a link 44 and also connected to the slide valve by avalve stem 45, then, as is readily apparent, the direction of rotation of the engine may be reversed.

In order to actuate the sliding abutment 40, its stem 41 has fast thereon an arm 46 connected to a rod 47 sliding in a radial direction in relation to the engine through a radial guide 48 fast on the side of the steam chest and stationary member 1. This ro is connected at the upper end by a link 49 to a bell-crank lever 50 mounted on a bracket 51, fast on the stationary member, and this bellcrank lever is connected by a link 52, to a rock-arm 53 fast on the rock-shaft 54 mounted in suitable bearings on posts or standards 55. Parallel with the rock-shaft 54 is another rock-shaft 56 mounted on standards 57 and both shafts are provided with like rock-arms `58 connected together by a strap 59 carrying a roller 60 engaging in a cam groove 61 on a drum 62 fast on the shaft 10. The groove 61 is so shaped that its cam section 63 will actuate the strap 59 and` two rock-shafts 54 and 56 and through them the rock-arm 53 and connections therefrom to the abutment 40, all in the proper time relation.

Mounted upon the shaft 10 beyond the standard 7 is a disk 64 fast on said shaft, and adjacent to this disk is a drum 65 provided with a cam groove 66. The drum 65 is secured to the disk 64 by a pin 67 or other means so that the drum 65 may be made to rotate with the disk 64 but may at the same time be loosened therefrom and turned about the shaft 10 independently of the disk 64 so that the relation of the groove 66 to the shaft may be changed at will.

On each side of the drum 65 are standards 68 having journal bearings at their upper end for ya short rock-shaft 59, each carrying two rock-arms 70, 71, projecting in opposite directions of the shaft. The lower ends of these rock-arms are provided with laterally- Sov . be utilized.

projecting pins or rollers 72 entering the cam groove 66 on diametrically opposite sides of the drum 65. The upper end of each arm 70 is connected by -a link 73 to a stem 7 4 entering the chamber through a suitable stulingbox 75 and there connected to a respective one of the slide valves 33 or 34. The purpose of the cam groove 66 is to actuate the valves 33 or 34 to cut oli' the steam supply a suitable time interval after the steam has entered through the steam port into the steam course so that the expansive force of the steam may It is to be observed that there are two slide valves and two actuating mechanisms.

Both the slide valves may be in continuous operation but one is always inactive since the y steam passage opened or closed thereby is closed otherwise by the plate 2l or 22. When it is desired to reverse the engine the pin 67 is suitably manipulated and the drum 65 is turned about the shaft until a new time relation is established for the cut-off valve to agree with the reversed direction of the engine. It is possible, of course, to provide a sliding abutment entering the steam course parallel with the shaft, as indicated in Fig. 4, but such an arrangement means a longer travel for the sliding abutment for each increase in the size of the engine, and the corre sponding change in the actuating means. l/Vith the sliding abutment moving radially its travel remains constant, irrespective of the power of the engine, since it is only necessary to increase the steam course laterally, that is in a direction parallel with the shaft Ain order to provide for the increased power.

What is claimed is 1, In a rotary engine, a stationary member provided with a circumferential steam course, a rotary member interior thereto, a piston fastened on the rotary member and in constant relation to the interior of the steam course, a movable abutment, means for moving the same into and out of the steam course, steam conduits entering the steam course on each side of the movable abutment, exhaust conduits in constantcommunication with the steam conduit, a steam chest provided with separate steam passages conduits on each side of the movable abutment and entering the steam course, a steam chest provided with separate steam passages and exhaust passages in alinement with said steam and exhaust conduits, a plate held in and of less length than said steam chest provided with slots to register with one or the other of said steam passages, a rod attached to said plate, a reverse' lever attached to said rod but mounted on said stationary member, cut-offs for each steam conduit, and means for actuating said cut-offs.

3. In a rotary engine, a stationary member provided with a steam course, a rotary member carrying a piston within the steam course, a radially sliding abutment movable into and out of said steam course, live steam conduits on each side of the movable abutment and entering the steam course, a steam chest provided with separate steam passages and exhaust passages in alinement with said steam and exhaust conduits, a plate held in and of less length than said steam chest, provided with slots to registerv with one or the other of said steam passages, a rod attached to said plate, a reverse lever attached to said rod, cut-offs for each steam conduit, means for actuating both the cut-offs simultaneously and adjustably to move the active cutoff to proper time relation with the rotary member of the engine.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I' have hereto a'Hixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM S. FERGUSON, Witnesses:

JAs. M. I/VALKER, FRANK S. APPLEMAN. 

